Pittsburgh Steelers veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is still grappling with the retirement of longtime center Maurkice Pouncey.
Maurkice and his brother, Mike, simultaneously announced Friday morning they were hanging up the spikes. Roethlisberger had a tough time explaining his feelings immediately following the announcement.
I don't have the words…I love you and thank you. — Ben. pic.twitter.com/QcUl132mMd
— BigBen7.com (@_BigBen7) February 12, 2021
Roethlisberger went into more detail speaking to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, hailing Pouncey as his greatest teammate ever:
“I’m still processing him retiring,” Roethlisberger said. “That’s hard for me. . . . I hate to say he’s the greatest teammate and competitor I’ve ever been around, but at the end of the day that’s what it is — he’s the greatest teammate and competitor I’ve been around. And that’s no slight to anybody else.”
Pouncey became Roethlisberger's center after the Steelers drafted him with the 18th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He exits as one of the most decorated players in franchise history.
The former Florida product was named to the Pro Bowl in nine of his 10 seasons in the NFL and might have made it 10-for-10 were it not for a torn ACL and MCL in 2013.
Pouncey's recovery from such a devastating injury with the Steelers was quite miraculous. He was named first-team All-Pro the very next season, the second such selection of his career. Big No. 53 was a mainstay on Pittsburgh's offensive line, and he is probably headed to Canton in the future.
The last image of Big Ben and Pouncey will be an enduring one. The two shared a touching moment on the bench after Pittsburgh's playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Inside look at the conversation between Maurkice Pouncey and Big Ben.
"I'm sorry, brother
"You're the only reason I wanted to do this, man."
"Oh, I feel worse for you than me."pic.twitter.com/c9Ftwo1YOx
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 11, 2021
Perhaps that conversation is not the most storybook of endings, given the nature of the defeat.
But it nonetheless speaks to how much Pouncey meant to Big Ben over the course of their 10 seasons together.
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